Summary

8.1 Whole Genome Methods and Pharmaceutical Applications of Genetic Engineering

• The science of genomics allows researchers to study organisms on a holistic level and has many applications of medical relevance.
• Transcriptomics and proteomics allow researchers to compare gene expression patterns between different cells and shows great promise in better understanding global responses to various conditions.
• The various –omics technologies complement each other and together provide a more complete picture of an organism’s or microbial community’s (metagenomics) state.
• The analysis required for large data sets produced through genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics has led to the emergence of bioinformatics.
• Reporter genes encoding easily observable characteristics are commonly used to track gene expression patterns of genes of unknown function.
• The use of recombinant DNA technology has revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry, allowing for the rapid production of high-quality recombinant DNA pharmaceuticals used to treat a wide variety of human conditions.
• RNA interference technology has great promise as a method of treating viral infections by silencing the expression of specific genes

8.2 Gene Therapy

• While gene therapy shows great promise for the treatment of genetic diseases, there are also significant risks involved.